Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley felt years of extra-curricular work come to fruition when he powered home a shot with his naturally weaker right foot against St Johnstone.
The 23-year-old hit an unstoppable strike into the roof of the net from 22 yards to put Celtic in front in Perth with 12 minutes remaining on Sunday.
O’Riley said: “I surprised myself a bit after I hit it. I just swung my right foot.
“My first thought after it went in was actually, it sounds weird, how stable I felt in my body. I think that’s a result of all the pilates I have been doing, outside of the club as well.
“It’s nice to see these things coming together. I just felt really stable over the ball and recently in training I have practised a bit with my right foot and …
Best Odds: 2/5
Bookmaker:
In what looks set to be a crucial Premier League affair on Saturday lunchtime, Manchester United will welcome the defending champions to Old Trafford.
Manchester United
Starting with the hosts, booking their EFL Cup semi-final ticket thanks to a routine 3-0 romp at home against Charlton earlier in the week, Manchester United are in the midst of a real purple patch. Heading into the World Cup s winter break on November 13th with a last-gasp 2-1 victory away at Fulham, the Red Devils have only continued to shine since returning from the festive interval. Last seen on Premier League duties opening the New Year with another 3-0 win against Bournemouth at Old Trafford, Erik ten Hag s high-flying squad have also won each of their six post-Wo…
Jadon Sancho is poised to complete a long-mooted move to Manchester United after the Premier League giants agreed a fee with Borussia Dortmund for the England winger.
Stats Perform understands United will pay the Bundesliga club £72.9m (€85m) for Sancho, with no add-ons included within the deal.
It will make the 21-year-old the fourth most expensive signing in United s history behind Paul Pogba, Harry Maguire and Romelu Lukaku.
Sancho is currently on duty with England at Euro 2020, a factor that is likely to delay the transfer being finalised.
But United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will hope to have the former Manchester City youth team player among his attacking options for his team s opening Premier League game against Leeds United at Old Trafford o…
Best odds: 8/5
Bookmaker:
A final match of the Champions League group stage for PSV Eindhoven and Arsenal is scheduled to take place at the Philips Stadion on Tuesday evening, with both teams concluding their strong performances in Group B.
Both teams have secured their places in the last-16 draw, with PSV Eindhoven as runners-up and Arsenal as group winners. However, Arsenal, in particular, aim to correct recent setbacks by delivering a better performance in the Netherlands.
PSV Eindhoven
In October, Peter Bosz s team salvaged a point from a seemingly lost cause with Jordan Teze s injury-time equalizer against Europa League holders Sevilla. Their penultimate matchday went even better, securing their spot in the knockout stage.
Sevilla led 2-0 t…
Barcelona have confirmed the departure of Samuel Umtiti on a season-long loan to Serie A side Lecce, with no option to buy.
The World Cup winner only penned a new extension with Barca earlier this year, albeit on reduced wages.
He will spend the 2022-23 campaign in Italy with newly promoted Lecce, who are looking to consolidate their position in the top tier.
Umtiti joined Barca from Lyon in 2016 and has made 133 appearances across all competitions for the club, winning two league titles and the Copa del Rey on three occasions.
In addition, he was a key member of the France squad that claimed World Cup glory at Russia 2018, though the centre-back has not played for his country since 2019 and is expected to miss out on selection for this year s tou…
Seattle Seahawks leading rusher Rashaad Penny’s season is likely in jeopardy after the running back reportedly fractured his left tibia in Sunday’s game at New Orleans.
According to NFL.com, Penny is expected to need surgery and will undergo further testing Monday to determine if he sustained additional damage.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll told reporters after his team’s 39-32 loss that Penny sustained a serious ankle injury, but did not elaborate further.
Penny entered the contest with 292 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 49 attempts through four games, and added 54 yards on eight carries Sunday before exiting early in the second half. He had his lower left leg bend awkwardly while being tackled on a third-quarter run and was taken off the field on a car…
Pierluigi Collina has stepped down as the chief refereeing officer of UEFA, European football s governing body has confirmed.
Collina will be replaced by Roberto Rosetti after opting to leave the role due to personal reasons.
Rosetti, who also becomes chairman of UEFA s referees committee, takes over having been responsible for implementing the VAR system at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Roberto was the natural choice for the job, said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin. His experience, knowledge and standing in the game are outstanding and I know he will chair the committee with passion and enthusiasm.
Collina s eight-year spell in the position saw the 58-year-old oversee the establishment of the Centre of Refereeing Excellence.
Pierluigi b…
Cucho Hernandez is proud to have helped Columbus Crew create history as they beat Los Angeles FC 3-1 to win the Leagues Cup for the first time.
Cucho opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time with a towering header past Hugo Lloris before Olivier Giroud netted his first goal for LAFC in the 57th minute.
When the game looked to be heading to penalties, Cucho stepped up again in stoppage time, curling a stunning effort in from the left wing before setting up Jacen Russell-Rowe for their third two minutes later.
Cucho, who scored four goals in the last three games on Columbus run to the title, was delighted to play such a big role in their success.
No words about that, no words. I m so happy for making history here, Cucho said. I m so happy for my famil…
Newcastle United are interested in signing Andreas Christensen from Barcelona, according to . The report in the Spanish publication has claimed that Newcastle wanted to sign Christensen in the summer of 2022 before he joined Barcelona on a free transfer after leaving Chelsea. The Magpies tried to get a deal done for the defender in the summer of 2023 as well.
According to Sport, neither Barcelona nor Christensen has any intention of leaving anytime soon. The Denmark international central defender is an important player in head coach Xavi’s team and is playing regularly for the Barca first team.
The 27-year-old has made 10 appearances in La Liga and has made two starts and one substitute appearance in the UEFA Champions League this season. Christensen made 22 starts an…
Denis Suarez claimed he did not receive any messages from Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde following his move to Celta Vigo.
The 25-year-old joined Celta during the close season in a deal potentially worth a reported €16million after struggling to hold down a starting spot in his three years at Camp Nou.
Suarez was offered the chance to link up with Marcelino at Valencia but instead opted for a return to Celta, where he started his career before heading to Manchester City in 2011.
Marcelino was constantly calling me to tell me how the situation was, he told Cadena SER. I was willing to give up many things to go to Valencia, but I rejected his offer because they wanted me to give up many more things.
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